If your case is pending at the 41B District Court, here is what you need to know:
- The 41B District Court in Clinton Township handles DUI, criminal, and misdemeanor cases for Clinton Township, Harrison Township, and Mt. Clemens.
- The court has three judges: Chief Judge Sebastian Lucido, Judge Jacob Femminineo, and Judge Carrie Fuca. The court also has a magistrate.
- Harrison Township sits along Lake St. Clair and is home to numerous marinas — making boating under the influence (BUI) a real and relatively common charge there.
- A BUI conviction in Michigan affects your boating privileges, not your driver’s license — but it still goes on your criminal record.
- Our office is located in Mt. Clemens, within the 41B’s jurisdiction. We appear in this court regularly and know how it operates.
- If you’ve been charged with a DUI or criminal offense in any of these communities, we’re available for a free, confidential phone consultation.
Our Home Court
The 41B District Court handles DUI and criminal cases for Clinton Township, Harrison Township, and Mt. Clemens. If you’ve been charged in any of these communities, your case will be heard at the court’s location at 22380 Starks Drive in Clinton Township. For our firm, this isn’t just a court we occasionally appear in. Our office is located about 5 minutes away, in Mt. Clemens, directly within the 41B’s jurisdiction, making this, in a very real sense, our home court.
We’ve appeared before the 41B’s bench hundreds of times across a wide range of DUI and criminal cases — first offenses and felonies, straightforward matters and complicated ones. That kind of repeated, consistent presence in a single court builds something no amount of preparation can fully substitute for: genuine familiarity with how things actually work there.
Who the 41B District Court Serves
The 41B District Court covers three distinct communities in Macomb County, as noted in the court’s official website:
- Clinton Township — one of the largest townships in Michigan by population, with a busy network of major roads and a steady volume of traffic stops.
- Harrison Township — a waterfront community along Lake St. Clair, known for its marina culture and boating activity, particularly in the warmer months.
- Mt. Clemens — the Macomb County seat and home to the county circuit court, the county jail, and our own office.
Each of these communities has its own character, and the cases that come through the 41B reflect that. Clinton Township produces a high volume of traffic-related DUI stops along corridors like Hall Road and Gratiot Avenue. Harrison Township, with its shoreline and marinas, generates plenty of criminal and DUI cases, along with a distinct category of BUI (Boating Under the Influence) cases that don’t arise anywhere else in the court’s jurisdiction.
The 41B District Court: What to Expect
The 41B is a three-judge court. Chief Judge Sebastian Lucido has served on the bench since 2005 and is the court’s longest-tenured judge. Judge Jacob Femminineo and Judge Carrie Fuca round out the panel. The court also has a magistrate, who handles certain administrative matters including arraignments.
In our experience, the 41B is a very reasonable court. Cases are handled professionally, and the judges approach DUI and criminal matters with consistency, and most of all fairness and understanding. As in any court, outcomes vary based on the facts of the case, the defendant’s background, and the quality of the representation — but the 41B is not a court that sets out to make an already difficult situation worse.
Like every district court, the 41B has complete authority over misdemeanor cases from arraignment through sentencing, and handles the early stages of any felony case before it is transferred up to the Macomb County Circuit Court in Mt. Clemens. For a more detailed look at how district and circuit courts divide that responsibility, see our article on district and circuit courts in Michigan.
DUI Cases at the 41B District Court
The majority of DUI cases in the 41B’s jurisdiction arise in Clinton Township, where the combination of heavy traffic, wide arterials, and a busy nightlife corridor means law enforcement has ample opportunity to make stops. A DUI arrest in Clinton Township — or anywhere in the 41B’s jurisdiction — triggers the standard process under Michigan’s OWI law, MCL 257.625: arraignment, bond conditions, pre-trial conferences, and ultimately either a plea or a trial.
For most first-offense DUI cases, jail is unlikely — but that doesn’t mean the consequences are minor. A conviction goes on both your criminal record and your driving record, can affect your insurance rates and employment, and carries mandatory license sanctions through the Secretary of State that the court has no power to modify. Getting the charge reduced — or, where the evidence warrants it, dismissed — matters enormously, and that’s where having a lawyer who knows this court becomes a real advantage.
For information on what a first-offense DUI charge actually involves, see our article on 1st offense DUI in Michigan. If you’re facing a second offense, the stakes are considerably higher — see our piece on second offense DUI in Michigan for a fuller picture. And if probation is something you’re concerned about, our article on probation in a Michigan DUI case covers what to expect in detail.
Harrison Township and Boating DUI Cases
Harrison Township is one of Metro Detroit’s most water-oriented communities. Its shoreline runs along Lake St. Clair, and the township is home to a significant number of marinas — including Beacon Cove Marina, Keenan Marina, MacRay Harbor, Safe Harbor Belle Maer, and the marina at Lake St. Clair Metropark, among others. When summer arrives, so does a predictable uptick in boating activity, and with it, boating under the influence cases.
In Michigan, operating a motorboat or personal watercraft while under the influence of alcohol or drugs is a criminal offense under the Marine Safety Act (MCL 324.80176). The legal standard mirrors that of a standard OWI: a blood alcohol content of .08 or higher, or visible impairment regardless of BAC. Michigan’s implied consent law applies on the water just as it does on the road.
There is one important distinction worth understanding: a BUI conviction in Michigan affects your boating privileges, not your driver’s license. That said, it still goes on your criminal record — and depending on your circumstances, it can carry jail time, fines, and a suspension of your right to operate a watercraft. A first-offense BUI is a misdemeanor, punishable by up to 93 days in jail and fines up to $500. Repeat offenses carry significantly harsher penalties, and a third offense is a felony.
Our firm handles BUI cases arising along Lake St. Clair, from St. Clair Shores through Harrison Township and north to Port Huron. Because Harrison Township is within the 41B’s jurisdiction, any boating offense that occurs in those waters will be prosecuted in this court — and we know it well.
Other Criminal Cases at the 41B
Beyond DUI and BUI, the 41B handles the full range of misdemeanor criminal charges. Some of the more common matters we handle there include:
- Driving While License Suspended (DWLS) and Driving While License Revoked (DWLR) — among the most frequent misdemeanor charges in any Michigan district court.
- Domestic Violence
- Embezzlement
- Indecent Exposure
- Reckless Driving
- Theft crimes
If a charge is serious enough to be a felony — a third-offense DUI, certain assault charges, or felony-level drug offenses, for example — the 41B will handle the early stages of the case (arraignment, probable cause conference, and preliminary examination) before transferring it to the Macomb County Circuit Court in Mt. Clemens for resolution.
Why It Matters That We Know This Court
There’s a line we’ve always believed: a lawyer is either selling experience in a particular court, or getting his or her tuition paid to get it. When it’s your case that’s pending, you don’t want to be paying tuition.
Because our office is in Mt. Clemens, within the 41B’s jurisdiction, we appear in this court regularly — not occasionally, and not when it happens to be convenient, but consistently, as part of our day-to-day practice. We know the court’s processes, the expectations of the bench, and the practical realities that shape how cases move through the system. That knowledge translates directly into better representation.
This is also why our DUI and criminal practice is deliberately concentrated in the courts of Wayne, Oakland, Macomb, and the surrounding counties. We don’t take cases in courts we don’t know. We focus on the courts where we can genuinely deliver an advantage — and the 41B is at the center of that.
Charged in Clinton Township, Harrison Township, or Mt. Clemens? Call Us.
If you’re facing a DUI, a boating under the influence charge, or any other criminal matter in the 41B District Court’s jurisdiction, we’re ready to help. Our firm offers free, confidential consultations over the phone — no need to come in, no paperwork to fill out first. Just call, and we’ll talk through your situation honestly and tell you where things stand.
We’re available Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., at 586-465-1980. An after-hours answering service is available outside those hours. You can also reach us through the contact form or chat on our website.
To learn more about DUI defense, visit our Michigan DUI/OWI practice page. For criminal defense matters, see our criminal defense overview.
